Christmas tree ornament



Sept. 5, 1950 u. MINNERS CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT Filed Aug. 2, 1948 Uva innenr INVEN TOR ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 5, 1950 u N l T E o .s TATES PATENT o 2,521,394

CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT Uva Lee Minners'Pemo'se, N. (3.

Application August 2, 1948, Serial No. 42335 l 9'Claims. This invention relates to ornaments, and more particularly, has reference to an ornament formed in the simulation of a creature, and which has probably its best, though not necessarily its only, application as a Christmas tree ornament.

By way of background, it maybe noted that Christmas tree ornaments formed in creature simulations are not in themselves new. How-' ever, one characteristic which I have noted with respect to ornaments of this type previously devised is that they have not in general been capable of attachment to the tree in such a way as will cause them to assume a natural andilifelike position thereon.

It is a main object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a Christmas tree ornament formed in the simulation of a creature which will be natural and lifelike in appearance, so that it will make an attractive addition to the other ornamentation used in decorating the tree; will include as one of its componentparts an attach-v tions of said attachin means formed as portions of the body of the creature, thus to add further to the attractiveness of the device.

Stated briefly, the invention in its broad aspects includes a body, that is formed into a lifelike simulation of a creature, such as a bird; and a clip that is for themost part concealed within said body, the clip including cooperating clip members that project from the body to simulate the legs of the creature, which clip members are adapted to grip a branch of a Christmas tree tightly; yieldin means adapted to press the clip members towards each other to provide for the gripping action; and finger pieces for operating the clip, the finger pieces "being formed as portions of the body of the creature, and 'bein'g exposed for ready manipulation of the clip. With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, hereinafter mOre fully described and pointed out in the claims, it .bein understood that changes maybe made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of one form ofornament constructed in accordance i h the-iniii) 2 vention, the same being shown mounted on branch of a tree such as a "Christmas tree. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective n! the clip means embodied in the form-0135B. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of a modified form of ornament.

-Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially on line lllof-Fig, 3. Referring to the drawings in -=deta=il, the erence numeral 5 designates a hollow formed in the simulation or a creature. In present instance, the creature is a bird, and this would probably be the simulation to which I invention would most usually be applied;

The body 5 is Yormed in any suitable manner, and obviously can be manufactured in separate parts molded or pressed to shape, theparts being bonded together or otherwise secured to the-"bodyfin its completed shape.

In'the form :01 the invention as shown inFlg. 1, body 5 is formed with a rear opening 6 a bottom opening I. Fixe'dlymounted within the b'ody an'd "disposed :above- "the "opening "Ifis in bracket or bearing member '8, that extends transversely of and within the body, bearing member 8 having at its 'endsupturn'e'd ears 9 "formed with openings lil receiving fastening means H whereby the bearing member is rigidly secured in place within the 'body. 1

Formed integrally with the bearing member 8, or otherwise rigidly secured thereto, are 'op-f posed depending arcuate springs '12. These extend downwardly from the medial portion of the bearing member 8, "and this medial portion formed with spaced slots 13. One of these slots}; as may be noted from Fig. 2, is formed in the. bearing'mein'ber proper, While the other slot formedinone of the springs 12.

Having its front end eidiended into and piv-a oted'in-the uppermost slot l3 isan operating handle 14'. Operating handle [4 is elongated, and extends 'r'earwardly through the body 5, "so

that it projects a substantial distance through; opening 6, thus to simulate a portion of the tan, of the creature. Another operating handle 15,

is pivoted in and extends rearwardly from the, other slot I this operating handle also being: extended through "opening '6 below the ope: j ing handle [4, and constituting the remaindero; the creatures tail. The operating handles IQ and T 5, it-may *be particularly noted from Fig. 1," diverge somewhat *in being extended rearwardlyz J 'The'f ront endof theoperatinghandle 1 with, integrally or otherwise, a clip portion 13,? that simulates =one 'leg of the creature, and wl' i'ci r is extended through the bottom openings it Operating handle 115 is similarly connectedrigidly "to, at its front end, theother clip portion 1-1. Clip portions it and l! are respectively provided r. V 3 at their free ends with arcuately diverging gripping portions 18 and I9, that are adapted to grip between them the branch B of a Christmas tree or the like.

As may be noted, the parts I4, 16, and I8, constitute one clip member, while the parts l5, l1, and I9 constitute a cooperating clip member.

In use of the device as constructed in Fig. 1,

it is only necessary that the user press the operating handles l 4 and toward each other, whereupon, against the action of the springs l2, the gripping members l8 and I9 are spread apart. The ornament is then positioned upon a branch B, and the operating handles released, whereupon the ornament will grip the branch tightly, being supported upon the branch in a natural and lifelike position, with the portions 16 and I! efiectively simulating the legs of the creature, while the handles l4 and I5 simulate the tail. 5 In the form of the device illustrated in Figs. 3 and'4, the body of the bird has been designated 20, and this is formed with opposed side openings 2l-,-;with the wings 22 overlying said opening. Wings, 22, in this form of the device, constitute the operating handles for operating the clip. Secured to the wings 22, and extended through the side openings 2i, are the clip portions 23. As may be noted from Fig. 4, these extend towards each other through the side openings 2|, and then are curved downwardly in converging relation. The downwardly extended portions thereof extend through slots formed in the arcuate spring 24, that is rigidly secured to bearing members 25 disposed transversely of the'body 20, and secured to the inner surfaces of the side walls of the body. Formed in the bottom of the body is a bottom opening, through which the clip portions 23 extend, the lower projecting ends of the clip portions being formed with arcuately diverging grippings members 21 adapted to grip the branch B of the tree.

In use of the form of the device as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the wings 22 are pressed toward each other, so as to spread the gripping members 21, whereupon the bird is positioned on the branch B and securely grips the branch.

,A.n'.important characteristic of the device as shownin Figs. 3 and 4 is the fact that the natural or lifelike position of the bird is provided for by formation of the ornament in such a way that the wings 22 appear to be folded along the body, which-of course would be, the natural tendency followed by any bird who settles upon a branch. Considering the ornament as a whole, other important characteristics may be readily noted. The ornament is attractive in appearance and use, with the clip means which isone of its component parts being in the main concealed entirely within the body of the ornament, Those portions of the clip means which do extend from the body are for-med, by reason of the novel construction,. as simulated portions of the creature giving little evidence to the casual observer as to. how the ornament remains secured to the tree ina l-ifelikeposition.

-What is claimed is:

1. An ornament including a hollow body formed in the simulation of a bird, said body having a bottom opening and a rear opening, a bearing member extended transversely of and within the body and a clip carried by the bearing member, said clip including spring pressed spreadable gripping portions extended through the bottom opening and adapted to engage a support, and operating handles for spreading the gripping portions,

said operating handles being extended through the rear opening of the body and formed to simulate the tail of the bird.

3., An ornament including a hollow body formed in the simulation of a bird, and a spring clip mounted on the body, said clip having its medial portion disposed within the body, spring pressed spreadable portions projecting from the under side of the body and adapted to engage a support, and operating handles for spreading said portions, said operating handles projecting from opposite sides of the body and having their projecting ends formed to simulate members of said bird.

4. An ornament including a hollow body formed in the simulation of a bird, a spring clip mounted thereon, said clip including spring means disposed within and connected to the walls of the body, support-engaging gripping members projecting below the body and formed in the simulation of legs of the bird, and operating handles extended upwardly from said spring means and projecting from opposite sides of said body, the free ends of said operating handles being formed as folded wings of the bird, said wings when pressed toward each other adapted to spread the gripping portions for securing said ornament to a support.

5. An ornament including a rigid body formed in the simulation of a bird, a bracket fixedly mounted inside the body, a spring mounted on ,the bracket, the bracket and spring being disposed Wholly inside the body, and a supportengaging means pivotally mounted on the bracket and yieldably pressed to support-engaging position by the spring, said means being disposed at least partially inside the body.

6. An ornament including a rigid body formed in the simulation of a bird, a bracket'fixedly mounted inside the body, and a support-engaging spring clip pivotally mounted upon the bracket and disposed at least partially inside the body.

7. An ornament including a rigid body formed in the simulation of a bird, a bracket having its ends fixedly secured to opposite side walls of saidbody and extending transversely across and inside the body, and a support-engaging spring clip pivotally mounted upon the bracket, all of said bracket and at least part of said clip being disposed inside the body the remainder of the clip projecting out of the body and adapted to simulate the legs and feet of the bird.

8. An ornament including a rigid body formed in the simulation of the body portion of a bird, a bracket fixedly mounted inside the body and extending transversely across and within said body, a bowed spring fixedly secured to said bracket, and a support-engaging clip mounted upon the bracket, said clip including cooperating clip members each of which is rockably mounted upon the bracket and pressed yieldably toward the other clip member by a portion of said spring, said clip members having their medial portions disposed within and concealed by the body, end

portions projecting outside the body and formed to simulate portions of the bird, said end portions constituting operating handles, and other end portions projecting outside the body and adapted to releasably grip a support, said secondnamed end portions adapted to simulate the legs and feet of the bird and being spreadable by the operating handles.

9. An ornament including a hollow body of rigid formation and formed in the simulation of the body portion of a bird, and a support-engaging means carried by said body, said means including a bracket having its ends rigidly secured to the inner surfaces of the opposite side walls of said body, a bowed spring rigid with the medial portion of the bracket, said spring and bracket being disposed wholly inside the body, the bracket having a pair of slots, and a spring clip carried by the bracket, said spring clip including supportgripping portions projecting outside the bottom 20 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 353,482 Cottle Nov. 30, 1886 2,294,241

Rober Aug. 25, 1942 

